Whenever a friend of mine needed a little vote of confidence, (you know, before an interview, audition, test, etc)…I would say:

“You can do anything!All you have to do is try,try and then you’ll make it”.

After they would get the Job, gig, etc… I would say:

“I told you so and now you owe me a ShnekelÂ Â (The two New Israeli Shekel coinÂ equivalentÂ to 50 cents)”.

For some reason this almost always worked and so, any friend who was facing a newÂ beginning, came to me for a Â sort of “ShnekelÂ Â blessing”.

One of the first gifts I posted about in this blog was a travel bookletÂ that I gave to my friend who decided to follow her dream and needed to travel in order to pursue it.Â Traditionally, I told her that she will find what she needs in order to pursue her dream and that when she does she will owe me a Shnekel.Â I finally got to see this friend whom I haven’t seen in a very long time. We were catching up and I was telling her that I’m opening my own interior design studio and that I’m totally freaking out about it… When all of a sudden she said:

I can’t believe that this is my 100th post! I was saving one of my DIY projects just for such a joyful occasion, though I mustÂ admit that I almost didn’t notice that I hit 100 posts. It was a real surpriseÂ realizingÂ that I did,I guess it’s kind of like forgetting that it’s your birthday.

So here it is a special DIY project that I call: Our friendship in a nutshell.

There areÂ severalÂ reasons that this post is very dear to me. First, it was a gift to my oldest and dear dear friend. Second, I came up with this sweet idea all by my little self. Third, I wasn’t sure I’ll be able to actually make this gift, so you can imagine how excited I was to see that it came out real nice.

The idea is based on the phrase “In a nutshell” which refers toÂ describing something using as few words as possible. The idea came to me when I saw walnut perfectly broken into two shells. I thought to myself that it could be used as a little box to contain a secret message. And thenÂ it hit me! It would be such a cute gift to write down a summery of the relationship, pointing out specialÂ occasions,Â shared phrases and long lost memories, using a nutshell as the box.Â Hence, “Our Friendship in aÂ Nutshell”.

Once I thought of the idea it wasÂ obviousÂ which friend is going toÂ receiveÂ it, my oldest friend. Going back almost a year and a half ago, I wrote a post about a gift IÂ receivedÂ from my oldest friend, using a shared phrase that became sort ofÂ legendary phrase among our friends: Tuna Fish Need Love. I think that the “friendshipÂ in a nutshell” gift is similar in concept to the book she made me, since both gifts are like a time capsule of memories. It was so much fun trying to remember all the silly things we did together.(Initially I thought about using pictures but then IÂ realizedÂ that they would come out too small and probably won’t fit in the nutshell).

This is a quite simple DIY project. Follow these few simple steps:

Step 1: Break a walnut into two pieces

Step 2: Coat it with a color of your choice. I used gold leafs, but I think that a simple acrylic color would be just as good.

step 3: This is the tricky part. I wanted to be able to open and close the nutshell. At first I though about using a hinge, but that was too small. So I took a piece of ribbon and glued it to the inner side of one of the shells. This way I was able to tie the twoÂ pieces together in order to open and close the nutshell.

Step 4: Print out a small note with the friendship description and in aÂ separateÂ thin piece of paper the phrase “our friendship in a nutshell”.Â Roll the note up like a little scroll and use another string of paper, to keep the note rolled. I simply glued one end to the other, making enough room to slip the scroll in.

Step 5: Place the note inside the nutshell, allowing the thin paper with the phrase to stick out. Tie the ribbon in a pretty bow and there you have it! Your friendship in a nutshell.

Step 6: Hide the nut in a bag full of nuts and give to your friend.

I made this for a close friend but this really is a wonderful anniversary gift for your husband/wife, niece/nephew, Parent, teacher or anyone sharing a long history that can be described in a nutshell. Since it’s small, you can give it as a keepsake for a traveling loved one. It is a great gift for the end of the year or a newÂ beginning.

Most importantly it is real easy to make and although it’s cheep and easy to make, it’s actually priceless.

My nephew just turned eight and I wanted to be the cool aunt with the cool gift. I knew he was into spiderman but I wasn’t sure if He didn’t grow out of it… So I asked him which superhero he loves best and he said: “you know I love spiderman (duh!) since I love to climb on stuff”. I figured he is old enough to read so I got him some Spiderman comic books.

I wanted to do something more so I used my crafting skills. I bought plain wooden letters (Spelling his name in Hebrew) and wrapped them in spiderman comic paper. Then I put them in a box and warped it with the same paper. You don’t have to do the whole name… The Initials areÂ sufficient… I just felt extra crafty, so I did the whole thing. YesterdayÂ I came to his house and helped him hang the letters on his bedroom door! He wanted to do it himself, so they turned out a littleÂ crooked. I think it’s cuter this way… And he was very excited about hanging them byÂ himself.

My mother got him Spiderman Bedding’s which was also a big hit cuz now his room had a quick Spiderman makeover.

Whether you areÂ celebratingÂ PassoverÂ or Easter you might need to do some wrapping. If you need to get some supplies and inspiration, Â Blank GoodsÂ has some great wrapping tips for personalizing wrapping. You can findÂ boxes, tags, twine, stickers, colorful tape, gift bags, labels and much more!Â I’m especially fond of these Â lovelyÂ EasterÂ eggs just waiting to be painted with your own design.

My good friend and wonderful designer Shani Ring Posted some great wrapping idea’s on her blog DesiRing. This reminded me that I have gathered some great wrapping idea’s myself, and that this is the perfect time to share them with you.

Wrapping should be an important part of the gift… I wish I could say that I put an effort into my wrapping, but that would be a lie… Usually, by the time I get to making a card or wrapping the gift, I get too lazy…It’s not that I don’t have great idea’s or craft supplies… Plain oldÂ lazinessÂ is my enemy here. Shame on me! However, The good thing about being a blogger, is that I canÂ give an advise I’m not going to follow… Hopefully my readers won’t be as lazy as I am, and this post will help them with some great wrapping ideas.

When wrapping, you want to take out all the craft supplies that you own: Ribbon’s, buttons’ pendant’s, colors, scrap paper, origami paper stamps, punchers,Â etc. ThinkÂ differentÂ when you look for wrapping paper. You can use oldÂ comics magazines, newspapers, children books, fabrics… I love using a niceÂ cardboardÂ or tin box for wrapping, this way it can be reused as a decorative item.

One of my great friends started studying stage and costumeÂ design. Although she is very talented, she is often insecure about her abilities, which is funny since she is one of the most creative andÂ talentedÂ people I know.Â Since I know how easy it is to forget your talents andÂ strengths while underÂ pressure of studies, I decided to make a small reminder.

I used my poor sewing skills in order to make her anÂ encouragementÂ kit. This kit is basically a small feltÂ envelope filled with felt hearts that carries the words “I can do it”, “I Know”, “I Believe”. The idea is that each time she feels insecure about her capabilities, she can take out the kit and repeat this mantra. Sometimes all you need is a little reminder that somebody believes in you.

WhenÂ conceptualizingÂ a gift idea, I often have to think of the graphics that the person whoÂ receivesÂ the gift would like. The style can vary from classic, vintage, romantic, modern etc… TheÂ different graphics are key for personalizing the gift. I used to rely on finding online freebies andÂ printable items. However, I recentlyÂ discovered Karen’s Graphic’s fairy blog which is a real gem in the world wide web. The graphic’s fairy blog holds around 2000 free images which you can download and use. Karen finds vintage paper graphics, she scans them and cleans them up so we could all enjoy them.

The great thing is thatÂ youÂ are able to search for items by themes and find the perfect graphics for your craft, DIY,Â scrap bookingÂ etc…

I just downloaded some graphics for some of my future gift ideas… I’m really looking forward to use them for my ideas!

My old room at my parentâ€™s house is like a treasure box of memories. Every time I open a drawer a closet or a box, I find something nostalgic.

For instance, I found this tin box in one of my drawers.

You canâ€™t tell by the looks of it, however, this is a very romantic gift. This box was given to me approximately six and a half years ago, from my dear love, as a gift celebrating the two year anniversary to our first date.

The great thing about a given thought is that it can containÂ an assemblyÂ that can’t be described as anything less than garbageâ€¦ Yet, given careful attention, they can encompass a sweet memory.

This is one of those gifts.

What you see before you is a memory in a box. It is the memory of our very first date: Guinness at the beach. I knowâ€¦ I knowâ€¦ Not your typical Dinner and moviesâ€¦

But stillâ€¦ This was our very first date, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The other two items are:

AÂ hair band- It was windy and my love gave me his hair band (His hair was longer back then).

Blistex- I guess my lips were dry and he gave me some for lip relief (such a smooth operator).

Every time I look at it I get a clear visual of our first date at the beach.